Boat of the knock-down type

ABSTRACT

A boat of the knock-down type comprising one-piece sheet serving as a hull of the boat, gunwale which can be mounted on the sheet, and frame to which the sheet can be detachably attached. The boat can be readily assembled and disassembled and, when the boat is disassembled, the sheet can be rolled to facilitate conveying.

Kififi Hoshino States s; t [1 1 Mar. 12, 1974 BOAT OF THE KNOCK-DOWN TYPE [75] Inventor: Hiroe I-Ioshino, I-liratsuka, Japan [73] Assignee: Tensho Electric Industrial Company, Ltd, Tokyo, Japan 22 Filed: on. 3, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 294,596

[52] US. Cl 9/2 C [51] Int. Cl 1363b 7/06 [58] Field of Search 9/2 R, 2 C, 2 F, 2 S, 2 A,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Dl75,684 9/1955 Kellogg 4/149 1,529,944 12/1924 Burian 1,690,936 11/1928 Langen 9/2 C FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 154,941 12/1920 Great Britain 9/6 9,076 9/1927 Australia 9/2 C 619,171 6/1933 Germany 9/2 C Primary ExaminerTrygve M. Blix Assistant Examiner-Gary Auton Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack [57] ABSTRACT A boat of the knock-down type comprising one-piece sheet serving as a hull of the boat, gunwale which can be mounted on the sheet, and frame to which the sheet can be detachably attached. The boat can be readily assembled and disassembled and, when the boat is disassembled, the sheet can be rolled to facilitate conveying.

2 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTED "AR 1 2 I974 SHEET 1 BF 2 BOAT OF THE KNOCK-DOWN TYPE DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART In one type of boats of the knock-down type known in the art, the sides and the bottom of a boat are made separately and can be connected together as by sewing when the boat is assembled. Since a boat generally has a three-dimensional structure of many curved surfaces, seams are formed in the portions of the main body of the boat joined by sewing in assembling, and there is the danger of water invading the boat through the seams. Besides, if the boat is handled roughly, then the seams are liable to be damaged and broken with use, thereby reducing the service life of the boat.

A boat of the type described above has hitherto had a collapsible hull which makes up the main body of the boat. Boats having a collapsible hull have disadvantages. Portions of the hull which are folded when the hull is collapsed are complex in construction and liable to be damaged with use. Thus, the boats of the collapsible hull are hard to fabricate, high in cost and low in durability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A principal object of this invention is to provide a boat of the knock-down type capable of being readily assembled and disassembled which comprises onepiece sheet means serving as a hull of the boat, having no seams and capable of being rolled instead of being folded when the boat is not used, so that the boat is higher in durability and safety than boats of the prior art having a collapsible hull.

Another object of the invention is to provide a boat of the knock-down type capable of being readily assembled and disassembled which comprises one-piece sheet means serving as a hull of the boat, having no seams and capable of being rolled instead of being folded when not used, gunwale means to which the sheet means can be fastened, and frame means including members of high strength for supporting the sheet means, so that the hull of the boat has a higher stability and strength than conventional hulls of the boats of the prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded plan view of a canoe in which the present invention is this incorporated, showing the sheet means in a spread-out position and the gunwale means to which the sheet means can be fastened;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a channel-shaped member of the gunwale means mounted on the marginal portion of the sheet means to show that the sheet means can be attached to the gunwale means by bolts long enough to be prevented from slipping out of the opening of the channel-shaped member;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a channel-shaped member of the gunwale means and a rib of the frame means, showing the manner in which the right and left side marginal portions of the main body of the canoe are interconnected.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a channel-shaped member of the gunwale means and the main body of the boat, showing the manner in which the channel-shaped member is mounted on the side marginal portion of the main body;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the frame means;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the bow of the canoe, showing its construction;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the float support means, showing the manner in which it is mounted;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the bow section of the canoe, showing the manner in which the deck cover means is mounted;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the canoe which is fully assembled;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the canoe of FIG. 9, with certain parts being broken away; and

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a paddle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention will now be described in detail with reference to a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that although the invention is shown and described as being incorporated in a canoe, the invention is not limited to the specific form of the embodiment and that it can have application in other forms of watercraft with some modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

In FIG. 1, there is shown elongated sheet means 1 made of synthetic leather or other like material in onepiece, substantially rectangular in the middle portion and substantially triangular in opposite end portions in shape. The sheet means 1 is formed at opposite ends or front and rear ends thereof with two large notches 2 having two members of the V slightly protruding inwardly and two small notches 3 having straight two members of the V at right and left side marginal portions of the middle portion of the sheet means 1. The middle portion of the sheet means is adapted to constitute a bottom of the canoe, the left and right marginal portions two sides thereof, and the front and rear portions a bow and a stern respectively thereof.

The sheet means 1 is shaped such that the left and right marginal portions of its middle portion are straight and parallel to each other while the front and rear end portions taper and have a width which is reduced in going toward the ends. A plurality of bolts 4 are inserted in the left and right marginal portions of the sheet means 1 in positions substantially equidistant from one another. As shown in FIG. 1, three bolts 4 are disposed in the front end and rear end portions, three bolts 4 in the forward middle portion, three bolts 4 in the rearward middle portion in each side marginal portion, and four bolts 4 each disposed along the opposite sides of the front and rear V-shaped notches 2, 2.

Inundation prevention covers 5 and 6 are attached as by sewing or bonding to the front and rear end portions of the sheet means 1 to close the notches 2. The leak prevention covers are made of a synthetic resinous material which is more pliable than the material of the sheet means 1.

The sheet means 1 is formed with a plurality of slots 21 disposed such that their major axes being aligned with the longitudinal axis of the sheet means. As shown, there are provided four slots 21, two slots in each marginal portion of the sheet means one between the front end portion and the middle portion and the other between the rear end portion and the middle portion for receiving there in ribs of frame means subsequently to be described. A plurality of holes 22 are also formed in the marginal portions of the sheet means.

Gunwale means comprising channel-shaped members 7, 7' and 8, 8' are adapted to be mounted on the marginal portions of the sheet means 1. Each channelshaped member is made of hard plastic, such as vinyl chloride, and substantially in the form of a letter C in cross-section, with an opening 9 large enough to permit the sheet means 1 to pass therethrough with a very small clearance. The channel-shaped members 7, 7 slightly differ from the channel-shaped members 8, 8 in shape, the former being bent at one end portion thereof so that they are adapted to be mounted on the tapering front and rear end portions of the sheet means while the latter being straight so the they are adapted to be mounted on the straight middle portion of the sheet means.

The channel-shaped members 7, 7 and 8, 8' have secured to one end thereof connecting portions 10a, 10b and 100. The connecting portions 10a and 10c are adapted to be received in the opposite ends of the channel-shaped member 8, and the connecting portion 10b is adapted to be received in the other end of the channel-shaped member 8. By connecting the channel-shaped members 7, 7' and 8, 8 by means of the connecting portions 10a, 10b and 10c for each marginal portion of the sheet menas l, the gunwale means can be provided for the canoe.

The frame means of the canoe will now be described. The frame means comprises a keel comprising a front keel member 11 bent upwardly in the forward portion, a rear keel member 12 bent upwardly in the rearward portion and a middle keel member 13 which is straight and connected to the front and rear keel members, a plurality of branch members 14 connected to the meddle keel member 13 and disposed at right angles thereto in a horizontal plane, and a plurality of tubular ribs 15 connected to the opposite ends of the branch members 14 for supporting the sides of the main body of the canoe. The branch members 14 and the ribs 15 may be formed integrally beforehand. As shown, the frame means comprises the branch members 14 and the ribs 15 arranged in three sets, each set comprising one branch member 14 and two ribs 15 and the branch member 14 and the ribs 15 of the middle set 15a being formed integrally beforehand. Each rib is formed at its upper end portion with an opening 16 for receiving therein a screw.

A plate member 17 made of wood, plywood, hard plastic or the like is connected as by screws to the upper surface of the middle keel member 13 of the keel.

A bow means adapted to be mounted in the bow and stem of the canoe, comprises two channel-shaped members 18, 18 of the C-shaped cross-section which is curved to comform to the shape of the bow and stem of the canoe, with an opening 19 being formed in the curved inner side of each member 18.

When the canoe made up of the aforementioned elements is assembled, the sheet means 1 adapted to make up the main body is spread on the ground. The channelshaped member 7 of the gunwale means is mounted in one marginal portion of the sheet means 1 by inserting the marginal portion in the opening 9 of the channelshaped member 7 and sliding the member 7 along the marginal portion. When the bolts 4 are located in the channel-shaped member 7, the member 7 is fastened to the sheet means 1 because the bolts 4 are long enough to be prevented from slipping out of the opening 9 as shown in FIG. 2.

Then, the channel-shaped member 8 is also mounted on the marginal portion of the sheet means 1 to be disposed adjacent the member 7. When the bolts 4 are located in the channel-shaped member 8, the connecting portion 10a of the member 7 is inserted in one end of the member 8 which is adjacent thereto so as to interconnect the two channel-shaped members 7 and 8.

In like manner, the channel-shaped members 7 and 8' are mounted on one marginal portion of the sheet means. It is to be noted that in mounting the channelshaped member 8' the member 8 previously mounted on the marginal portion of the sheet means 1 stands in the way, so that one end of the small notch 3 is moved upwardly as shown in FIG. 4 before the member 8 is mounted on the marginal portion. After the connecting portion 10b of the member 7 is inserted in one end of the member 8, the interconnected members 7 and 8 are slightly moved toward one end of the canoe before the connecting portion 10:: extending from the other end of the member 8 is inserted in the other end of the member 8 which is adjacent thereto, so that all the channel-shaped members 7, 7' and 8, 8 of the gunwale means for one marginal portion of the sheet means 1 are connected together.

The channel-shaped members for the other marginal portion of the sheet are connected in like manner. The channel-shaped members ofthe gunwale means are fastened to the other marginal portion of the sheet means 1 because the bolts 4 are large enough'to be prevented from slipping out of the opening 9 of the channelshaped members.

A pair of holding members 20 each made of a hard strip material and bent downwardly inwardly at opposite ends to form engaging ends are inserted in two pairs of slots 21, 21 to be disposed across the width of the canoe, one pair being disposed in the sheet means in positions near the connecting portion between the channel-shaped members 7 and 8 mounted on one marginal portion of the sheet means 1 and the connecting portion between the channel-shaped members 7 and 8 mounted on the other marginal portion thereof and the other pair being disposed in the sheet means in positions near the connecting portion between the channelshaped members 7' and 8' mounted on one marginal portion of the sheet means and the connecting portion between the channel-shaped members 7' and 8 mounted on the other marginal portion thereof. By this arrangement, the left and right sides of the sheet means 1 can be brought to upright positions and maintained in such positions.

Then, the inundation prevention cover 5 is folded inwardly and the opposite sides of the V-shaped notch 2 are brought into engagement with each other, and one curved channel-shaped member 18 of the bow means is mounted on the engaged opposite sises of the V- shaped notch 2 as shown in FIG. 6 so that the bolts 4 inserted in the sheet means 1 along the sides of the V- shaped notch 2 are located in the channel-shaped member 18. The bolts 4 are long enough to be prevent from slipping out of the opening 19 in the channelshaped member 18. Thus, the bow section of the canoe is assembled. The stem section of the canoe can be assembled in like manner by folding the inundation prevention cover 6 inwardly and securing it in place by the other channel-shaped member 18 of the bow means.

Although the bow and stem sections of the embodiment' shown and described herein are identical in shape, it is to be understood that the stern section may be shaped differently from the bow section with some modifications without departing from the teaching of 5 this invention.

The frame means assembled beforehand is now ready to be placed on the sheet means and connected thereto. The openings 16 each formed at the upper end of one of the ribs are indexed with the holes 22 formed in the marginal portions of the sheet means 1 and screws or the like are inserted therein from the sheet means side so as to fasten from together. In connecting the ribs 15 of the middle set 15a to the central portion of the sheet means 1, a float support means comprising members 23, 23 is fitted over the gunwale means in embracing relationship and one of a plurality of holes 230 formed in each float support member 23 is indexed with the opening 16 formed in the tib 15 and one of the holes 22 formed in the sheet means 1 as shown in FIG. 7 to receive therein a screw or the like, so that the float support means can be fixed to the sides of the canoe simultaneously as the frame means is secured to the sheet means.

Deck cover means are then attached to the bow section and stern section. The deck cover means comprises a pair of deckcovers 24 made of a flexible material and a pair of rods 25 each made of a hard material and bent at one end portion like the handle of an umbrella. ln attaching one of the deck covers 24 to the bow section, the bent end of one of the rods 25 is hitched on to the rib and the other end thereof is connected to the corner of the bow section as shown in FIG. 8. Then, the deck cover 24 is spread on the bow section and secured in place by inserting string in holes formed in marginal portions of the deck cover and tying the string. The other deck cover 24 can be attached to the stern section in like manner.

In order to increase stability, a pair of floats 26 made of foamed plastic or each comprising an air bag are fastened to outer sides of the float supporters 23 at opposite sides of the main body by bands attached to the float supporters.

' Finally, a paddel 27 is placed on board to finish assembling of the canoe according to this invention.

The present invention offers many advantages. Since the hull and bottom of the main body are designed to be composed of a one-piece sheet formed at front and rear ends thereof with large notches and at opposite sides thereof with small notches, the main body can be readily assembled with greater case than conventional collapsible boat having a main body comprising component parts which are sewed together. In assembling the main body, there is no danger of breading the scams or damaging the component parts and the operation can be performed in a short time interval with little manual labor. The sheet can be rolled without being folded when the main body is disassembled, so that there is no danger of the folding parts being damaged.

.The arrangement that the frame of the boat is connected to the main body by means of gunwale means comprising channel-shaped members of C-shaped in cross-section and tubular connecting means using screws and bolts as little as possible facilitates assembling and obviates the problem of losing parts in assembling and disassembling the boat. The gunwale means and bow means are prevented from slipping out of the main body by bolts inserted in the marginal portions of the main body, so that the frame structure of the boat according to this invention has high stability and firmness.

The boat has inundation prevention covers 5 and 6 attached to the bow and stem of the boat to prevent water from inundating the boat, and float means is provided at opposite sides of the boat to increase the stability of the boat. Thus, the boat according to this invention is not only easy to assemble and disassemble but also safe to ride in. Thus, it lends itself to the purposes of not only a pleasure boat but also a life boat.

What I claim is:

l. A boat of the knock-down type which can be readily assembled and disassembled, comprising elongated sheet means made in one-piece and formed at its front and rear ends with large notches and at its opposite sides with small notches, said one-piece sheet means having a plurality of bolts inserted in opposite marginal portions and along the sides of the V of each said large notch and adapted to constitute the hull and bottom of the boat, gunwale means comprising a plurality of channel-shaped members substantially in the shape of a letter C in cross-section, said gunwale means being adapted to be mounted on said sheet-means to constitute the main body of the boat and the opening of each said channel-shaped member being dimensioned such that the bolts inserted in the sheet means are prevented from slipping out of the opening once they are located in each said channel-shaped member, inundation prevention cover means adapted to close said large notches formed at the front and rear ends of the boat, bow means comprising a plurality of curved channelshaped members substantially in the shape of a letter C in cross-section, said curved channel-shaped members being adapted to be mounted on the engaged sides of the V of the large notches formed at the front and rear ends of the boat respectively to constitute the bow and stem of the boat and the opening of each said channelshaped member dimensioned such that the bolts inserted in the sheet means and disposed along the sides of the V of each said large notche are prevented from slipping out of the opening once they are located in each said channel-shaped member, and frame means comprising a keel and a plurality of ribs disposed at right angles to the keel.

2. A boat as set forth in claim 1 wherein said sheet means adapted to constitute the hull and bottom of the boat is made of a flexible material so that it can be rolled to facilitate conveying when the boat is disassembled. 

1. A boat of the knock-down type which can be readily assembled and disassembled, comprising elongated sheet means made in onepiece and formed at its front and rear ends with large notches and at its opposite sides with small notches, said one-piece sheet means having a plurality of bolts inserted in opposite marginal portions and along the sides of the V of each said large notch and adapted to constitute the hull and bottom of the boat, gunwale means comprising a plurality of channel-shaped members substantially in the shape of a letter C in cross-section, said gunwale means being adapted to be mounted on said sheet-means to constitute the main body of the boat and the opening of each said channel-shaped member being dimensioned such that the bolts inserted in the sheet means are prevented from slipping out of the opening once they are located in each said channel-shaped member, inundation prevention cover means adapted to close said large notches formed at the front and rear ends of the boat, bow means comprising a plurality of curved channel-shaped members substantially in the shape of a letter C in cross-section, said curved channel-shaped members being adapted to be mounted on the engaged sides of the V of the large notches formed at the front and rear ends of the boat respectively to constitute the bow and stern of the boat and the opening of each said channel-shaped member dimensioned such that the bolts inserted in the sheet means and disposed along the sides of the V of each said large notche are prevented from slipping out of the opening once they are located in each said channel-shaped member, and frame means comprising a keel and a plurality of ribs disposed at right angles to the keel.
 2. A boat as set forTh in claim 1 wherein said sheet means adapted to constitute the hull and bottom of the boat is made of a flexible material so that it can be rolled to facilitate conveying when the boat is disassembled. 